Ever since the Thalidomide incident in 1961, public health inspection of birth defects has only increased. The 2015 Zika virus epidemic only further enhanced the need for the inspection of underdeveloped newborns, as the Zika virus typically infects mothers during pregnancy.
The proper surveillance of birth defects can serve several purposes as outlined by Melo et. al. From a population perspective, data such as patterns in the amount of birth defect cases can be recorded. With this information, disease severity can be estimated properly. The understanding of disease severity then lends itself to adequate preventative planning procedures. Public policies can then be implemented with the appropriate numerical data to support them. More importantly, monitoring the outcome of preventative procedures can also assess how effective these procedures are.
Early Birth Defects
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This surveillance data can also benefit those looking to improve the quality of life for children born with special needs. A more accurate understanding of the severity of these birth defects allows for children with special needs to get connected to the appropriate healthcare and necessary social resources. This would also limit the time commitment and economic burden placed on caretakers around the world.
However, there are obstacles associated with these surveillance programs. There must be a unified effort in standardizing data collection and analyses. Although it is theoretically simple to outline such standardization, it is much more difficult to implement internationally. Standardization could be accomplished by simply establishing a minimum set of variables measured as well as the demographic of patients analyzed. As of right now, there are around 6 international surveillance collaboration networks from Europe to Southeast Asia. By focusing on a certain demographic of participants, these surveillance programs can specifically benefit impoverished communities that lack access to healthcare.
With the proper protocol, both individuals and communities can benefit from the preventative measures aimed to improve quality of life for both caretakers and newborns.
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